Mary Allen
Shoulder height: 52 – 70 cm
Weight: 22 – 30 kg
Age: 12 – 14 years
Colour: all except blue, brown, wolf gray, or tricolor
Use: sporting dog, companion dog
The Magyar Agar is a Hungarian greyhound breed. It is considered good-natured, affectionate, and easy to handle, provided its urge to move is sufficiently satisfied.
Origin and history
The Magyar Agar (Hungarian Greyhound) is an ancient hunting dog breed that goes back to oriental steppe greyhounds. To increase its speed, the agar was crossed with various West European greyhound breeds during the 19th century. Up until the 1950s, it was used specifically for hunting rabbits on horseback. The Magyar Agar has been recognized as an independent Hungarian breed since 1966.
Appearance
The Magyar Agar is an elegant, powerful greyhound with a well-developed bone structure. Its body length is slightly greater than the height at the withers. It has a strong skull, expressive, dark eyes, and medium-high rose ears. The chest is deep and strongly arched. The tail is set medium high, strong, and slightly curved.
The Magyar Agar’s coat is short, dense, rough, and flat-lying. A dense undercoat can develop in winter. The fur can come in all color variations. Exceptions are the colors blue, brown, wolf grey, and black with tan, and tricolor.
Nature
The breed standard describes the Magyar Agar as an indefatigable, persistent, fast, and resilient dog that is excellent for dog racing. His alertness and readiness to defend are well-developed, but he is not aggressive toward strangers or dogs.
He has a very balanced nature and – like most greyhound breeds – is very personal. Once it has found its caregiver, it is very affectionate, willing to subordinate, easy-going, and obedient. Despite all obedience, the Magyar Agar remains a passionate hunter who never misses an opportunity to hunt. For their safety, he should therefore remain on a leash when walking in the woods or the fields. However, a well-trained agar can also run free in wild-free terrain.
Indoors, the Magyar Agar is a very calm, relaxed, and easy-going companion – outdoors, it unfolds its full temperament. The sporty dog must also be able to live out its urge to move, for example in races or coursing. It also needs a stimulus for his intelligence. Therefore, for lazy people, this breed of dog is not suitable.